Hundreds of Colorado residents have suffered injury or even death due to a medical professional’s inability to provide adequate medical care. This could be a situation that warrants a lawsuit based on medical malpractice. However, a statute of limitation exists surrounding how long a party has to file a claim for medical malpractice in Montana.
Statute of limitations describes how much time an affected party has to file a lawsuit from the time an incident occurred. Statute of limitations exist to bring order and regulation to lawsuits resulting from medical malpractice. The statute of limitations in Montana is three years from the alleged incident for adults. For example, a person who has suffered paralysis after a routine spinal tap has three years from the incident to file a lawsuit seeking damages.
To recover damages the injured party and their family must prove aspects of negligence. This includes showing that the physician owed a duty to the patient, that there is a standard of care and the physician violated that standard and that a compensable injury occurred.
If these facts are found to be true, the patient will typically be awarded damages. These could be damages for the incident itself, pain and suffering or to cover current or future medical expenses.
While all these points may not be immediately clear to the injured person, they can be discovered. Discovery can be a crucial step in winning a case. If the evidence can be collected and presented, it bodes well for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Source: ncsl.org, “Medical Liability/ Medical Statutes of Limitations,” Accessed April 6, 2015
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